One of the NBA's most able insiders was putting together a set of rankings Monday night during the Warriors-Orlando game. Like most everyone inside Oracle Arena, he was caught up in the team's recent surge, all about rebounding, defense and bouncing back from the departures of Andrew Bogut and Brandon Rush.

Assuming the Warriors won, he was going to rank them seventh - in the entire league - based on how everyone's playing right now.

Afterward ... I'm not sure how the list turned out. "Maybe 20th?" he wondered late in the fourth quarter.

For a league building ever so slowly toward a near-inevitable conclusion - Miami vs. Oklahoma City in the Finals - there are radical shifts of fortune on the lower levels. The Lakers aren't just struggling at the moment, they're downright awful. The pro-Knicks sentiment (certain to collapse) has reached dizzying heights in New York. And Orlando, the team that decisively beat the Warriors on Monday night, suddenly looks like a playoff contender.

You'll never see the Magic more aggressive and cohesive than they were during a two-night stretch that saw them embarrass the Lakers (and particularly Dwight Howard, whose rude departure left the organization in chaos), then come to Oakland for a dominant all-court display.

It was disturbing to hear coach Mark Jackson and the players say the Warriors were "flat" for this game, "a step slow" and not prepared to match Orlando's energy. How is that even possible? There's no excuse for "flat" during a homestand. Given proper rest, true professionals come out hard every night, with a passion, not about to let anyone call them soft or unmotivated, and they don't need a coach to light the fire.

After brief pregame chats with Jerry West and general manager Bob Myers, each decidedly upbeat about the Warriors' resolve, such an uninspired performance was the last thing I expected. But the issues run deeper than that. There was no mirage to the Magic's ownership of the inside game, even in the relatively ordinary hands of Nikola Vucevic and Glen (Big Baby) Davis, who combined for 38 points and 21 rebounds. Jameer Nelson, Arron Afflalo and J.J. Reddick were more than a match for the Warriors' respected backcourt, with a noticeable edge in quickness.

Before tipoff, Jackson had indicated that "this is a huge game for us, because a big task lies ahead (the seven-game road trip over 11 days). It's important for us to win the games we're supposed to win, and finish off this homestand the right way."

You wonder, now, exactly which games the Warriors are supposed to win. You'd mark down Washington and Charlotte on the upcoming road swing through the Eastern Conference, but you can't be sure about Detroit, Orlando or Atlanta, with Miami and Brooklyn (tough at home) probably out of reach.

There's another way of viewing this, however. The Warriors' playoff fate will be determined within the Western Conference, and a single home loss doesn't diminish their legitimate shot at contention.

Normally, you pencil in six or seven "lock" teams for the playoffs, leaving precious little room for the stragglers. This year, it's more like four - OKC, Memphis, San Antonio, Clippers - and you'd have to add the Lakers, just for the star power. They have to sort out Steve Nash's injury (he might still be two weeks from returning), coach Mike D'Antoni's offensive system and the notion of trading Pau Gasol, whose sore knees and lethargic play amount to a massive dose of negativity. But falling out of the playoffs altogether? Unlikely.

So assume there will be three spots open and three teams - Phoenix, New Orleans and Sacramento - with no chance. That puts the Warriors in a seven-team group with Houston, Dallas, Utah, Minnesota, Portland and Denver, subplots abounding.

Viewed in a different light, there are times when both Harden and the Rockets, including Jeremy Lin, look completely out of sync. The Mavericks brought in Derek Fisher, to the consternation of the backcourt players about to lose playing time. Utah knows that "winning big" is only a part-time solution in today's league. Rubio is still a month away, and the T'wolves' backcourt took an experience hit with Brandon Roy's latest knee issues. Portland has very little coming off the bench and the Nuggets are just as flighty and unpredictable as ever.

As Jackson likes to say, "We'll take care of our own business and not worry about anybody else." Sound thinking, but there's work to be done on the motivational front. The Warriors can make this a successful road trip by going 7-for-7 in desire.